S+T+ARTS Cross-Fertilization Programme

Veröffentlicht am 9. April 2024 von Alexandra Garatzogianni und Michael Fribus

The S+T+ARTS Cross-Fertilization Programme was a catalyst for innovation and business growth, empowering projects that merged science, technology, and the arts. Dedicated to helping three selected innovative ventures to develop their businesses, the programme facilitated a series of group and individual mentoring and training sessions focused on essential topics such as business models, marketing strategies, pitching, and public funding.

The S+T+ARTS Cross-Fertilization Programme

More specifically, the STARTS Cross-fertilization Program supported STARTS Prize recognised teams (winners and honorary mentions) to further explore their creative potential, thus enabling greater social, economic and sustainable impact. The Program considered the level of expertise of the STARTS PRIZE recognised teams and followed a method aiming at encouraging cross-fertilization. It provides support from different types of mentors, challenges the teams to explore and test their projects in different environments and co-organize masterclasses to share their experience with other individuals or organisations interested in sci-tech-arts projects.

Booklet on “Business acceleration guidance for S+T+ARTS projects”

Alexandra Garatzogianni, Head of Head of Knowledge and Technology Transfer, and Coordinator of EU Projects, supported the STARTS Cross-fertilization Program as evaluator and dedicated mentor for the selected teams, delivering customised mentoring in individual sessions with each team, throughout the project’s duration. The lessons learned during the programme, including recommendations for art-tech projects and initiatives, where distilled in the STARTS booklet on “Business acceleration guidance for S+T+ARTS projects.”

Alexandra Garatzogianni contributed by authoring the first chapter on “Development and Exploitation Strategy: A proposition created for S+T+ARTS teams willing to upgrade their project”. This chapter encompasses advice for art-tech projects, startups and SMEs on specific steps and key angles to be considered when developing a Development and Exploitation Strategy, as well as Recommendations for a multidisciplinary and accelerated S+T+ARTS initiative.

The future seems to be multi- and transdisciplinary, requiring alignment of different, co-existing perspectives, which are crucial for the successful and sustainable development and uptake of novel solutions and products. This would extend beyond the technical feasibility and TRL development level of solutions, to formulating and implementing the appropriate market development strategy and sustainable business model, encompassing diverse revenue streams, sales and customer acquisition processes and expanding the product portfolio, to considering timely any relevant legal, ethical and privacy angles pertaining to managing data and co-defining an appropriate vision and strategy of each specific venture.

Alexandra Garatzogianni

About S+T+ARTS

Since 2016, S+T+ARTS has supported hundreds of collaborations between Scientists, Technologists and Artists through residencies, prizes and mentoring programmes. It is without a doubt the largest European programme dedicated to these cross-disciplinary collaborations. S+T+ARTS is driven by the conviction that science and technology combined with an artistic viewpoint also open valuable perspectives for research and business, through a holistic and human-centered approach. Science, technology and arts (STARTS for short) limn a nexus at which insightful observers have identified extraordinarily high potential for innovation. And innovation is precisely what’s called for if we’re to master the social, ecological and economic challenges that Europe will be facing in the near future. With the S+T+ARTS initiative, the European Commission’s focus is on projects and people that have the potential to make meaningful contributions to this effort.